


Wild and Wasted Waters

by theycallmesuperboy



Category: Star Trek 2009, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, road trip au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2013-06-24
Packaged: 2017-12-16 00:09:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/855558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theycallmesuperboy/pseuds/theycallmesuperboy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“ROAD. TRIP," Jim yelled over his shoulder as he ran past Bones, carrying the heavy bag into the kitchenette, where he raided the pantry for snacks. He tossed the half eaten bag of chips he’d bought yesterday, a slightly suspicious banana, two unopened bags of chex, and a couple other things into one of the reusable shopping bags from one of the grocery stores or organic markets that people in this town liked to shop at.  </p>
<p>Hikaru wandered into the kitchen from his bedroom on the other side of the apartment, rubbing his eyes, "I called Nyota, and she said that she, Scotty and Spock would be ready by the time we picked them up, and she said she'd call Pavel to find out who's couch he was sleeping on last night."  </p>
<p>ROAD TRIP AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wild and Wasted Waters

**Author's Note:**

> So, basically, I wrote the entire thing while at the hospital and after my grandma's funeral this week, rest in peace, Mema, and even though it would weird you out to read this because you were 83 and a god-fearing southern lady from Georgia (like Bones) you made me love to write.
> 
> SO ANYWAY I wrote the outline of this on accident, it was only supposed to be a couple words because someone ELSE'S road trip post pissed me off, but then I stayed up for four hours and it ended up being 1,400 words. Oops. Finally I have something to contribute to this fandom other than making Starfleet uniforms and that one rec list I'm super proud of.
> 
> Also I'm also kinda really in love with Carol Marcus and I've noticed a severe lack of good fics where Carol isn't a total bitch or whatever, and well, the ladies of Star Trek are just fab and I love Uhura and I really really love Gaila and I refuse to believe she's dead and i love just, ugh, the entire bridge crew okay.
> 
> \---  
> Edit: 9/2  
> ALSO someone on tumblr made this AMAZING fic "ad" and oh gosh go look at it: http://how-are-you-so-perfect-dear.tumblr.com/post/96142632145/fandom-fic-ads-5-road-trip-jim-yelled

The clock blinked neon green, 5:03 AM staring him right in the face. His phone vibrated loudly on the nightstand, and Jim groaned. He reached up, blindly groping around for it, grabbing and answering the call in one swift motion. It wasn’t even early enough for light to be peeking through the shutters, much less for anyone to be calling them. He didn’t even bother to look at the caller ID.  

"Kirk," he barked out. He was still lousy with sleep, one hand shoved under his pillow, sheets wrapped around his legs and waist from his various tossing and turning during the night, his voice muffled by the pillow.  

"Jim?" a crisp, accented female voice asked from the other side. Jim shot up, suddenly more awake than he'd been moments before.  

"Carol!" he heard Bones' muffled grumbling from the other side of the apartment they'd rented for the summer.  

He could almost hear the smile in her voice as she said his name, "Jim," she said, very clearly, and much more serious, "I need you to do something for me. You need to pick me up at the JFK airport in New York in four days."  

"I have to pick you up? In _New York_?" 

 "Yes."  

"But-" 

"Be at the air port at the international gate by nine AM." 

"Carol-"  

"You can make a road trip out of it, if you want," she said lightly, in contrast to her demands moments before. Then, knowing she had finally captured his attention, she hung up the phone, leaving him sitting in the dark with an alarm clock blaring the time at him in neon green.   

He glanced at the clock, took a deep breath, and yelled, "ROAD TRIP EVERYBODY GET IN THE CAR WE’RE DRIVING ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO PICK UP MY EX GIRLFRIEND!”  

A moment later he heard muffled swearing from the two bedrooms on either side of his own. He smirked, and bounced off the bed, flicking on the light. He started shoving various T-shirts and things into a duffle bag, when Bones opened his door, looking half asleep and utterly harmless in his faded Academy shirt and pajama pants. Jim might have thought it was cute if Bones hadn’t been glaring.  

"Jim, it’s five am," he said grouchily.  

“ROAD. TRIP," Jim yelled over his shoulder as he ran past Bones, carrying the heavy bag into the kitchenette, where he raided the pantry for snacks. He tossed the half eaten bag of chips he’d bought _yesterday_ , a slightly suspicious banana, two unopened bags of chex, and a couple other things into one of the reusable shopping bags from one of the grocery stores or organic markets that people in this town liked to shop at.  

Hikaru wandered into the kitchen from his bedroom on the other side of the apartment, rubbing his eyes, "I called Nyota, and she said that she, Scotty and Spock would be ready by the time we picked them up, and she said she'd call Pavel to find out who's couch he was sleeping on last night."  

"Have you even slept?" Bones asked Jim, following him into the kitchen. 

"GET IN THE CAR," Jim yelled as he threw the duffle over one shoulder, the bag of snacks over the other, and headed out into the hallway. Hikaru shrugged as he followed Jim out, carrying a bag of his own. Hikaru was already dressed, and Leonard shook his head, exasperated.  

"I'm driving."  

\--- 

Two days later, they found themselves piled in Jim's ancient minivan- the very same one Scotty helped him repair the week they met- lost somewhere in Arkansas. They thought. Jim gripped the steering wheel tightly, and stared out at the highway. The completely empty highway. The highway that had been empty for the last hundred miles. But he was _not_ lost, damn it!  

Spock had pulled out a map they'd bought maybe four stops back, when Pavel had insisted they stop because he _really_ had to pee even though they'd stopped literally five minutes before because Scotty had been driving and it "worried him when the gas gets below an eighth of a tank" and Spock had explicitly, and _repeatedly_ asked if anyone had needed anything. So they ended up stopping at a dingy little gas station in the middle of nowhere, and Pavel had been afraid to go into the bathrooms alone, so he made Hikaru join him and stand gaurd. Nyota had then pointed out that the sign said “Best Gas in Texas" and that they were definitely not in Texas an hour ago, and maybe they were lost. So Spock bought a map. 

Spock unfolded the map, but it turned out to be much larger than he originally thought, and when he opened it, it was flipped upside down, and nearly impossible to read. "I believe we are-"  

"I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING, DAMN IT!"  

"Jim I-"  

"I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING!" he insisted, frowning at the road. Spock opened his mouth to protest, but paused, and sat back in the passenger seat, folding the map into a neat square, and placing it on his lap as he watched Jim stubbornly ignore him, and the map.  

Bones was grouchy. Well, he was often grouchy, but this time he had a specific reason. His back hurt because of the couch he'd volunteered to sleep on the previous night, forgoing the bed for someone else to sleep on. He thought it would have been fine, after all, Joss made him sleep on the couch plenty when they were married. But it wasn't, because the couch at that motel must have come from one of the seven hells and was personally designed to have a spring that dug into his back all night. Which would have been fine, had he not been forced to sit in seat _not designed for fully grown men, damn it._ "Why did the hobgoblin get to sit shotgun?" he grumbled, sandwiched in between a snoring Scotty with a half-eaten sandwich in his lap, and a Nyota who was blissfully unaware of whatever was going on around her, because she had two headphones in and music cranked up loud enough to be heard in Nebraska. 

Pavel piped up from the third row where he was draped across Hikaru, reading a book- in Russian, of course- "Because he called it!"  

"That's great kid," Bones rolled his eyes and grumbled something about bastards and slouched in between his two friends.  

\--- 

Jim and Spock switched places half an hour later, and Jim sulked for three minutes, before attempting to read the map. He grunted in frustration. 

"I don't see how this little red line is supposed to be us!"  

"The line is not 'us,' Jim, it is simply the road we are on." 

"But where are we?"  

"I am... unable to determine that at the present time." 

"So you don't know?"  

"... Yes."  

Hikaru popped up from the back where he and Pavel were snickering over a piece of Russian literature that wouldn't have been funny to anyone reading a translation, or didn't have a Russian best friend, like Hikaru obviously had. The half eaten bag of chips was abandoned on the floor beside them, spilling out onto the carpet. He elbowed Pavel, "Hey, aren't you pretty good at navigating?"  

Pavel nodded, "Yes!" 

"Hey Jim, let me see that map," Hikaru called. Jim threw up his arms in frustration and made a sound of disgust, and tossed it back to him.  

"Here. Keep it, I don't want it," he spat, and sank back into the passenger seat, arms crossed, and sulking. 

Hikaru handed it to Pavel, who looked it over eagerly, "Oh yes, this is easy! Maps were inwented in Russia, you know." Half the car groaned, but Pavel didn't seem to notice. "We are here, see? We must turn here and we will see this city here, and then we will be there!" 

\--- 

Spock eventually handed the wheel back over to Jim, who was itching to drive. He said just siting there made him nervous, and Spock believed him. Jim drove halfway through the night, and noting the time, and that they were somewhere in Virginia, he thought, he asked, "Alright, who wants to drive?"  

The car was mostly silent- everyone appeared to be asleep, except for one light in the rear of the car. Pavel looked up from the map he was looking at with a flashlight, and said, "I can do zat!" 

Jim glanced into the rear-view mirror, and shrugged, saying "... Yeah sure kid, why not?" He pulled over onto a semi-lit section of the highway, because he _did_ actually have some self preservation instincts, and hopped out of the car. Pavel threw open the sliding door, and said, "Hey! She's an antique!"  

Pavel winced, "Sorry, sorry!" as he slid into the driver's seat. For a moment, he looked utterly awed at the dashboard.  

Jim eyed him worriedly, "You have done this before, haven't you, kid?"  

Pavel turned around and looked offended, "Yes, of course! I drive- drove my aunt's all the time in Russia! Driving was, in fact, inwented by a little old lady from Len-"  

"Yeah, yeah, everything was inwe-" he shook his head, "invented in Russia, got it," he said, as he climbed into the back with Hikaru who was draped around some plant he insisted on stealing somewhere back in Kentucky.  

Jim was half asleep when they got pulled over. He didn't remember most of it, but from what he understood afterwards, they were all arrested because they let an _underage_ foreigner drive without a license. From either country. So the seven of them ended up chained to a bench in the wonderful town of Drewryville. Where the fuck Drewryville was, none of them had any idea. Which didn't please any Drewryville cops.  

"Sorry, sorry!" Pavel winced, apologizing for the sixth time in two hours, "You asked if I had driven before, and I had!" 

"Yeah, but what I had in mind wasn't your aunt's _tractor._ " 

"Sorry," he winced. Nyota sighed, and patted his leg. 

"It's fine, Pavel." 

"Yeh- it's an adventure!" Scotty said, way too cheerful for that time of night.  

"Mhmm," Hikaru agreed, sleepily.  

Jim lounged on the bench like he owned it. He'd been in too many of these places, too many times to count. But hey, being arrested with his friends was something new. The last time he'd gotten in trouble like that had been... well, when he'd met Nyota, actually- in that little shipyard bar in Riverside when her instructors sent them on a field trip to see the factories, of all places- and when he met Pike. Pike who'd worked with his father, and promised him a recommendation letter if he rose to the challenge and applied to the private collage he worked at- San Francisco Academy, SF Academy, or just the Academy, for short, where he'd met the rest of his friends. _Pike._  

Jim sat up, "Hey Spock, didn't Pike retire to somewhere around here?" 

Spock looked up, and raised an eyebrow, "I believe so, Jim, but I fail to see how that is relevant-" 

"Spock, _tell_ me you remember his number." Spock looked puzzled, but conveyed the number. "Thank fuck, Spock, I could kiss you!"

Spock looked alarmed, "I assure you, Jim, that is not necessary."  

Jim's smile faltered momentarily, "It's a figure of speech, Spock." Spock opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it. "Well _anyway,_ we never got our one phone call."

"Ah. You intend to call Pike to 'bail us out.'" 

"Pretty much. Hold on," Jim said, and  started waving his hands, "Hey! Hey, uh, officer!"  

The officer at his desk- looking incredibly bored in the graveyard shift, a cup of cold coffee only half drunk, then abandoned- looked up, and came over when Jim beckoned him.  

"Hey so we never got our one phone call." 

The officer's brow furrowed, "You didn't? That should have been the first thing the booking officer did, after locking you guys up."  

Jim let out a short laugh, "Yeah, well, we didn't really have anyone to call then."  

"Oh, okay. Well, uh, are you making the call?" 

"Yeah." The officer unlocked Jim's cuffs, and led him to a phone. Jim dialed the number, and it rang, but went to voice mail. Jim cursed.  

"This is Christopher Pike. I couldn't make it to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number, I'll call you back when I get the chance." The line beeped.  

"Fuck. Okay Chris I've got like thirty seconds but-" he said in a rush, "it's Jim Kirk and I've kinda been arrested and you're the only person we know within a thousand miles of Drewryville and we kinda need you to post bail thanks."  

Jim sighed. It was going to be a long night.  

\--- 

Eleven hours later, Chris Pike showed up, bail paid, to break them out. The guy who'd shared graveyard shift with them left hours before, and this new guy was more than happy to see them go. 

"Jim," Chris said, with an almost rueful smile on his face. "And Spock, _and_ Uhura. And a couple of new faces," Scotty waved. "You've really outdone yourself this time, kid."  

"In my defense, it wasn't completely my fault this time."  

"Yes it was," Nyota told him. 

"Hey, I thought we'd gotten over this whole blaming me for everything phase!" 

"Nope," she said, almost smugly.  

"What took you so long, Chris?" Jim asked.  

"Oh, the offices don't open till ten."  

"Hey, that leaves like... Three hours unaccounted for!"  

"Well," he smirked, "I wanted to see you dumbasses sweat." He frowned, taking a more serious tone, "Now what the hell were you kids thinking, letting him drive?" he gestured to Pavel, "Russian wizkid, what's your name? Chanko? Cherpov?"  

"Chekov! Pavel Andreievich, sir!"  

"How old are you?"  

"Seventeen, sir."  

"Oh good, you let the seventeen year old Russian kid drive the car full of experienced drivers and supposably resonsable adults."  

"It seemed like a good idea at the time?" Jim winced.  

Pike sighed, "Just make sure it doesn't happen again."  

Jim nodded, and gave a mock salute to Pike as he left, shaking his head. Bones was shaking his head at Jim, Nyota was coddling Pavel, and Scotty thought the whole thing was hilarious- he didn't have half as much fun before these guys came along. Hikaru really just wanted to get back to the car so he could water his plant.  

Spock reminded them they were on a schedule- they had to pick up Carol in about twenty four hours. After that, they drove for another couple of hours, till they were all about to drop dead from exhaustion, because the benches in police stations? Yeah, really not comfortable. They stopped just outside the New York State line, and got a couple of cheap, adjoining motel rooms.  

\--- 

In the end, none of them ended up sleeping where they started out. Pavel left his room he shared with Jim and Bones, and cuddled up with Hikaru around midnight, because Hikaru always reminded him of home. So Scotty left the couch because he's not bloody blind he could see there was something going on there but he didn't want to bloody _see_ it. So he went and wormed his way into Nyota and Spock's bed- they are just friends, thank you very much, that train sailed a long time ago, they're just the most comfortable sleeping in the same bed. Except for Jim, of course, he'd sleep in the same bed as a hippo if he were tired enough- and so Spock got up and ended up in Jim and Bones room, but Bones was pissing so his side of the bed was vacant, and Spock crawled in there, and Bones certainly didn't want to sleep with _him_ so he went and got in bed with Scotty and Nyota because he doesn't care if there's anything going on there- he's a doctor, damn it, he's seen things, he just really wanted some shut eye in an actual _bed_ not a goddamned _couch_ , thank you very much.  

So Jim and Spock woke up in a very compromising position- wrapped around each other. Jim froze. It didn't seem like Spock was awake yet, otherwise he'd probably have punched Jim. He was currently wrapped around his best friend- well, _one_ of his best friends- and was sporting morning wood. Which seemed to be pretty mutual. But. Um. Boners are a perfectly natural part of life, and well, he's _clingy._ Nothing out of the ordinary. So there was nothing weird at all when he went into the bathroom to take a _shower_. A hot one. 

And there was nothing weird at all about Spock reaching the same conclusion, all while being, well, awake the entire time. But there's nothing going on there, so why would it be weird?  

\--- 

Despite their unconventional sleeping arrangements, everyone stumbled into the complementary breakfast room, in at least a semi-awake state. Breakfast was poor, as it is to be expected at a place like that, but no one really seemed to notice- or mind. Bones- he's kind of a bagel guy, but don't tell his grandma that, because to her he swears up and down that biscuits and grits, real southern food, are his favorites- was just happy that he got a semi-decent night sleep in an actual bed, despite it being with two other people. Nyota, with her coffee and muffin, and Scotty, with his sausages, sat at a little table all to themselves. Jim really likes waffles. He _really_ likes them. And when he saw they had a waffle iron? _Awesome._ Spock, pointedly ignoring that morning, sat with Jim and Bones to make a statement. What that statement was, he had no idea, but he was going to _make_ that statement. He ate his oatmeal in silence.  

Everyone ate in silence, never mind the fact Hikaru was falling asleep in his cereal, and Pavel looked way too happy to not have gotten any sleep, being kept up all night by Hikaru.  

\--- 

After breakfast and checkout, they all piled in the car for the hour drive it took them to get to JKF, just in time to pick up Carol. 

Bones insisted on driving, because, "NO, Jim, the kid is NOT getting behind the wheel again, damn it!"  

"Aww, bones, but he was just starting to get good at it!"  

And Nyota sat with him in the front while they played music he actually likes because why the hell is he even friends with Jim in the first place, they don't even like the same goddamn music, and he and Nyota debated the recent outbreak of Malaria in Kenya. She assured him that everyone in her family- her mother, her grandmother, her aunts, they're all fine, and that he doesn't need to worry about them. "Leonard, you'd be the first person I'd tell if anyone was sick," she said, and he agreed. Nyota was the person who was the least likely to tell him everything was fine, just for his sake. He liked that about her- her ability to say it like it was.  

Jim and Spock were shunned into the back for their bad driving judgment, and attempted to play a portable chess game, while pointedly avoiding that morning and any feelings they may or may not have. While in the middle row, Pavel, Hikaru, and Scotty debated upgrades to the car's engine despite the fact Jim stubbornly insisted that the Enterprise, as he calls her, is _just fine,_ and she doesn't need any "upgrades" and that they just want to mess with his car, until Scotty got a call from Keenser, Scotty's platonic life partner and assistant in the engendering lab, where he worked at the school.  

He ended up yelling into the phone for the better part of twenty minutes, about whatever the hell Jeffries Tubes were, and how Keenser never ate, and a bunch of other things the rest of them didn't understand because the more frustrated he got, the thicker his accent became, until he was just a flurry of angry Scottish words. Then suddenly he got really quiet, and started speaking softly into the phone. Jim figured that he probably hurt Keenser's feelings, _again._   

\--- 

They pulled up at the international gates' baggage claim terminal just after nine thirty. Carol's plane landed at ten, but they figured that she would have her bags checked, and would need to get them. Bones pulled up to the curb, and Jim dialed Carol's number.  

She picked up almost immediately, "Jim? I assume you're here?" 

"Yep! We're just outside."  

"Alright, we'll be outside in a moment." 

Jim asked, puzzled, "We?" 

"I met a friend on the plane who needs a ride back to San Francisco," she said, and hung up.  

"There she is!" Pavel said, pointing out the window. Carol, looking sharp in a dark blue traveling suit, pulling a black suitcase and carrying a large black bag, walked out of the airport, only she wasn't alone. Next to Carol was a girl with wild red hair, and skin so pale it almost looked green.  

Jim threw open the door, and climbed out, "Carol! Gaila!"  

The girls grinned at him, "Jim!" Gaila said. He grinned at them, and picked Carol up and spun her around, and then lifted Gaila up, squeezing her till she squeaked. 

From the car, Bones sighed and shook his head. He turned the car off, and, with Nyota, went to greet Carol. Carol gave him a side hug.  

"Gaila!" Nyota said, embracing her old friend. "I had no idea you were coming back to the states!" 

"Me neither!" she laughed, "but I'm running out of places to hide from exes!" 

Nyota laughed, shaking her head, "You _would_ sleep your way across Europe." 

"Well what did you think I meant when I said I was touring Europe?"  

Pavel, Scotty, Hikaru, and Spock were watching the exchange from the car.  

"So, uh, anyone want to meet Gaila?" Hikaru suggested. Pavel and Scotty shrugged, and the three of them climbed out, said hello to Carol- they all knew her from the Academy- and introduced themselves to Gaila. Spock had this uncomfortable, irrational feeling when he saw Jim and the two girls interact, that he strongly suspected was jealousy. But since Graysons don't get _jealous,_ he climbed out of the car and introduced himself to Gaila.  

Carol eventually said to Gaila, "I had no idea you knew Jim!"  

"Jim, Nyota and I go _way_ back!" 

Carol turned to her friends, "I met Gaila on the plane, and she said she wanted to get back to San Francisco eventually, and I told her thats where I was going, and we became fast friends. So do you mind if Gaila comes along, Jim?"  

"Of course not! We've got plenty of room!" 

"We only have one seat left, for Carol," Pavel said, confused.  

"Oh, I don't take up much room," she said, winking at him. He blushed.  

Bones, being the southern gentleman he was, offered to put their bags in the trunk. He opened the back, and crammed the bags- Carol's suitcase, and Gaila's backpack- in with the others.  

Airport security was eyeing them, so they decided to get a move on. Jim decided he was driving again, and Carol sat up in the front with him, the two of them laughing at each other's jokes. Scotty, Hikaru, and Pavel sat in the middle, and Gaila made a point to literally lay on top of all of them, incessantly flirting with everyone. No one seemed to mind, however. Bones, Spock and Nyota sat in the back. 

"Hey Carol darlin'?" 

Carol turned around, "Yes, Leonard?"  

"How's Christine Chapel?" he inquired, "I haven't heard much of her since her fiancé died," he shook his head, "She really took it hard." 

Carol smiled, "She seems to be well, I saw her a couple of weeks ago when we went out for drinks." After her fiancé died, Christine took up a summer internship with the company Carol's dad runs, 'to get away,' and frankly, Leonard was worried about her. Chris was a sweet girl, and could be tougher than nails, but she had a heart like glass after that boy died, even though he was a rotten scoundrel.  

\--- 

Jim had turned on the radio, and was rocking out to Sabotage by the Beastie Boys, hitting the steering wheel tothe beat. He closed his eyes, singing along, when Nyota yelled, " _JIM_!"  

Carol and Scotty screamed, as Jim opened his eyes, and swerved, narrowly missing another car as he had accidentally traveled into the adjacent lane. He _almost_ hit another car- but he didn't, it's okay!  

"It is NOT okay, Jim!" Uhura crossed her arms, almost pouting, but he shrugged. 

"I don't see what's wrong?" he saw, in the rearview mirror that she crossed her arms pointedly, "Fine, I'm sorry!" 

Spock, who had been gripping the dash so hard there were almost marks, pried his fingers off the dash, and reached over and changed the station. Jim glared at him, and changed it back. Spock, petulantly, changed it again. After that, the two of them just poked at the thing until it was childish and petty and Nyota yelled, " _Boys_ ," and they flinched and apologized.  

\--- 

After the almost 'getting into a collision' incident, Nyota insisted they stop and get something to eat at some roadside cafe, since they were about thirteen hours to Winona's- Jim insisted it hadn't been his since he was sixteen and it stopped being the place he came home to at night. The little place they found was a dirt-side cafe a few miles from the town they'd just stopped in to ask for directions, called 'Spacedock IV' despite having no relation to space whatsoever, in either decor or cuisine.  

Scotty got in line first, grabbing a sandwich, and plopping down at one of the indoor picnic tables. Everyone else was in line, Jim included, when he reached for his wallet, checking his pockets. His wallet wasn't there. He checked the front pockets of his jeans, and all the pockets of his jacket.  

"Fuck, forgot my wallet in the car, I'll be right back!" he said, turning out the door. 

"Jim, I can pay for you," Spock said, following him.  

"No, it's fine, I wanna get my wallet anyway." 

"At least let me come with you." 

"Sure, Spock," he grinned. Jim jogged across the road and searched around in the car for a moment, before hooting triumphantly, and jumping out of the car. Everyone else had gone through the line, and followed Jim and Spock outside. Carol and Nyota were munching on chips, and had just sat down, when Jim ran back across the road.  

Out of no where, a car sped by and hit Jim. The driver kept on driving, but Jim crumpled to the ground. Someone gasped, and Spock felt all of the air rush out of his lungs. He found himself running towards Jim, who was groaning. Jim opened his eyes, "Ow." 

The rest of the group ran over, and Hikaru said, "We have to get him to a hospital!" They all piled into the car, throwing Jim in, and drove off in a random direction, because no one remembered which way a hospital was, despite Jim saying, "I'm _fine!_ " 

Pavel eventually spotted one, and Gaila swerved into the parking lot going somewhere around seventy in a twenty five zone. The car screeched to a halt near the emergency room, somehow parked across three different spaces. The group practically carried Jim inside, Bones checking his vitals, then demanding he be seen immediately. Jim just sighed, and glare at all of them, "I'm fine! Just in case anyone is wondering!" he said loudly. The doctor eventually came over, and poked and prodded at him, much to his displeasure. The doctor declared he was fine- he only had a couple of scratches on his face, and his right hand was bandaged, and he checked himself out of the hospital, much to Bones' displeasure, who insisted that the doctor was incompetent, and checked Jim out himself. Jim sighed, and stayed on the bed, while Leonard checked him over. He narrowed his eyes, and looked around at the group in the room, who were sitting tiredly in chairs and on the floor. "Where's Scotty?"  

Everyone turned their heads, and Hikaru frowned, "Has anyone seen him at the hospital?"  

Nyota looked apalled, "We _lost_ Scotty?"  

"Fuck."  

\--- 

They checked the emergency room just in case, and Pavel even asked a nurse to page him. She looked dubious. "You've lost your... child?" 

He opened his mouth to tell her otherwise, but shut his mouth and nodded, "Yes." 

"What was his name again?" she eyed him, and he tried to look older than he was.  

"Montgomery Scott."  

She pressed the intercom button, "Paging Montgomery Scott, paging Montgomery Scott to the emergency room, your father is looking for you." Pavel just smiled at her.  

\---  

Scotty, they found, wasn't in the Emergency Room. When they got back in the car, they just sat there for a few minutes, till Nyota asked, "How did we lose an entire person?" The car was silent. "Any ideas where we might have left him?"  

"Uh, did we leave him at the cafe?" Jim suggested.  

Carol started up the car and drove back to the cafe, where they found Scotty still chowing down on a sandwich. "What?" he said, his mouth full, "I like this trip! It's exciting!"  

\--- 

Since they were only a couple hours away from Winona's, they elected to drive all night, everyone sleeping in the car. Gaila and Pavel were curled up in the front seat, Jim was drooling against the window, with Bones asleep on his shoulder, and Carol on his. Behind them, Uhura was curled up with her head on Scotty's lap, and her feet on Spock's. Hikaru had drawn the short straw and ended up behind the wheel on the night shift.  

Jim awoke with a violent turn of the car, as his head hit the window with a sharp _crack._ He sat up, and rubbed his eyes, "Wassup?"  

"Nothing," Hikaru said quickly. "Go back to sleep."  

Jim narrowed his eyes, and shoved Bones off him. The car made another sharp turn. Jim looked out the window, and they weren't on the highway. He had no idea where they were. He wasn't sure _Hikaru_ knew where they were, by the look of things. It looked like they were in a city somewhere, and by how blurry everything seemed, he was pretty sure they were going _way_ over the speed limit. Not that that kind of thing really bothered Jim, he was used to doing legally questionable stuff, but he was used to knowing _why_ he was doing it. So after after the _next_ violent turn, he unbuckled his seatbelt, and practically leaned into the front seat. 

"Hikaru." 

Hikaru swallowed, gripping the steering wheel, looking straight ahead, except for glancing in the rear view mirror nervously. "Yeah?" he said, but the word was clipped. Jim looked behind them, but they looked like they were alone on the street. Suddenly, a car blaring it's horn shot out of no where, and nearly hit them. Hikaru hit the gas and swerved of the driver's way.  

"How DID THIS EVEN HAPPEN," Jim half yelled as the car swerved and he was thrown to the side. Hikaru and everyone else still strapped in simply moved to the side.  

Hikaru glanced back at him nervously, as he tried to dodge the car chasing them. "Um, I don't know," Jim glared at him. "Sir," he said nervously.  

"I didn't mean for you to ca- just ugh, what the fuck is even going on?" Jim looked out behind them, to where a beat up brown van that looked like it couldn't go more than fifty miles per hour without falling apart was following them. On the side, a peeling "NARADA INC." was printed. Then, the door swung open, and a guy in a trench coat with tattoos on his face hung out, and threw an egg at them. Hikaru didn't notice, so it hit the back window and the left side of the car, splattering egg across the window. " _Hikaru_." 

He winced, "Uh. That's Nero, I think, and uh, his minion Ayel is driving."  

"Are we in a _car chase_ with a _gang_?" The car was hit by another egg. 

"Um."  

Hikaru had slowly let up on the gas unknowingly, and suddenly, the Narada shot forward and hit the back of the Enterprise, and jolted everyone awake, causing Hikaru, Scotty, Bones, and Jim to yell, and a couple others to swear loudly. Three others- all tattooed and wearing long coats- stuck their head out the door swearing at them in a language that Jim didn't recognize but made a sleepy Nyota look mildly offended. They flipped them off, and drove off, not bothering to stop at the red light. Hikaru did stop. While he was waiting for the light to change, Jim sat back in his seat, and everyone got their bearing.  

"What the hell just happened?" Bones demanded. 

"Aye!" Scotty said, trying to sit up from his slouch, with his arm around Nyota. 

"Jim-" Spock started, looking around.  

"Hikaru, just pull over." They traveled for half a block, then he pulled into a space on the side of the road in front of a streetlight. Jim threw open the door and jumped out.  

"FUCK!" he yelled, and Hikaru heard him kick the car and swear as it groaned. Hikaru scrambled out of the car.  

"I'm so sorry Jim we can get it repaired!"  

Scotty, who'd been staring almost blankly since they were hit, jumped up, and said, "What did ye do to her?"  

When he managed to climb over Leonard and Nyota, Scotty followed Jim and Hikaru outside to see the damage. On his knees, Jim had his arms wrapped around the side of the minivan and was whispering to her. "No precious stop falling apart, I love you, daddy loves you, shh."  

Scotty's jaw dropped. The whole left half of the bumper was detached from the vehicle, and for the most part, was crushed. They'd been dragging it behind them. The tail light looked mostly intact, but was hanging by wires. He let out an antagonized wail, "Nooooo! Enterpriseeeeeee!" he sobbed, and fell to ground. "What have ye done ta her?" By that time, Nyota- who'd been more worried about Scotty than Jim- and Pavel- who was still slightly afraid that Jim was going to strand him- and now Hikaru- in the middle of the Midwest with no way to get home- had climbed out of the car and were watching with Hikaru.  

He leaned over to Nyota, who was watching the boys asses their baby's damage, with crossed arms and a slightly exasperated, slightly amused look on her face, and said, "I don't know who sounds more upset about it, Scotty, or Jim, the actual owner of the car." She just shook her head and shrugged.  

Jim narrowed his eyes pointedly at Hikaru, who looked guilty, "You're paying for damages. But not now. Now we're getting to my mom's," he stood up and started towards the door, but then twirled around, "Does anyone have duct tape?"  

Pavel had thought he'd seen some in the trunk, but he wasn't sure in which bag, so he climbed into the back, and went 'trunk diving' as Gaila called it. She was still half asleep, and waving from the front seat, but she volunteered to 'dive' if need be. Pavel said he could handle it. After a couple minutes, Pavel stuck his head up, and said, "Ah ha! I did it!" and proudly showed them the duct tape. He handed it over to Scotty and Jim, who took on the job with enthusiasm. They managed to reattach the bumper to the car, and even put the light back in place, even if it looked like the rear of the car was made of more duct tape than metal. Everyone boarded back into the car, and Jim was even kind enough to let Hikaru drive it.  

"Punch it," Jim said, lounging back in the seat, hands laced behind his head, and feet propped up on Hikaru's headrest. Everyone except for Gaila and Pavel, who resumed their position of curled up in the passenger seat, had decided to forgo sleep, because they were already up and cars were lousy beds anyway. Hikaru rolled his eyes at him, and pressed the gas.  

"I'm pretty sure that means go, kid," Leonard drawled.  

Hikaru looked puzzled, "I'm, uh, I'm not sure what's wrong here." 

Spock said, "Have you disengaged the external inertial dampener?"  

"I LET YOU WATCH THAT MOVIE _ONE_ TIME," Bones let out, "Are you smirking? Jim, the Martian's smirking."  

Spock looked perfectly composed, but that wasn't fooling anyone. "Is the parking brake on?"  

Hikaru reached over and turned off the parking break. As they were pulling out, he mumbled, "Is the parking break on? Oh it's _on._ Someday I'm going to break into your house and murder you and your children and your children's children and whisper 'is the parking break on?' as you die." Jim laughed for the next hour.  

\---  

A couple hours later, after stopping for coffee- Bones' demand- and lunch- Carol's request- Spock pulled in at Jim's mother's. The large, white house was two stories with a wraparound porch in a sea of dirt. The closest neighbor was half a mile away, but it was nice, in a middle-of-bumfuck-no-where kind of way. As soon as they pulled onto the dirt road leading up to Winona's house, the screen door swung open, and Winona stepped out. She was older, but beautiful. Her long blonde hair- which was much lighter than Jim's- framed her face- which only betrayed her age with a few laugh lines- and curled down below her breasts, and almost to the tip of her white tank top. Her toenails, sticking out of the long, raggedy hem of her worn jeans, were painted red, a drastic difference from the white of the porch.  

Before Spock even turned off the engine, Jim was out of the car. Bones sighed, and followed him. Jim sprinted to the house and wrapped his arms around his mom, who hugged him back. When Bones made his way after Jim, everyone else climbed out of the car after them. Bones hugged Winona too, who welcomed him with open arms, and they laughed about something. He was the only one of the group to have ever gone stay with Jim at Winona's. 

Spock's hand was stilled over the keys. He just- he'd never felt so _left out_ before. His mother was loving but she had become much more subdued when she married his father, and his father and grandmother, and the rest of their extended family were so strict, they almost never expressed emotion, and in public? It was uncalled for. He felt unprecedented _longing_ for that.  

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Nyota, who hadn't gotten out of the car yet, and had climbed over to him. She smiled at him, "Hey, they're waiting for us!" He looked towards the house and Winona was pushing Pavel, who was laughing, Bones and Carol inside, but Jim was staring at the car with a strange expression on his face. Nyota smiled again, and stepped out of the door as Spock followed.  

When Spock and Nyota reached the door, Jim slapped him on the back, "Spock!"  

"Jim." 

Jim turned to his mom, "Mom, this is Spock, he's my _other_ best friend."  

"Mrs. Kirk," he said, nodding towards her.  

"You can call me Winona," she smiled at him, and held out her had. He looked at it for a moment, and then stiffly shook it. Jim looked mortified. 

He leaned over to her and whispered, " _Mom_ Spock doesn't like to shake hands. It's a weird cultural thing with his family." But Spock noticed he looked slightly happy that he did it anyway.  

"Well Mr. Spock, come on in! My husband is in the living room," she said, and steered her son and Spock inside. "This is the living room," she said, pointing, "And the man on the couch is Frank," she waved. The man had dark hair and facial hair that was graying, and was slightly overweight, but overall looked rather harmless. 

"I'm Jim's stepfather," he said, and Jim made a face, but he laughed, and hugged him.  

"Frank, this is Spock," Spock nodded at him in greeting. Winona had flitted off towards the kitchen, where she was handing out second helpings of what looked like cream corn, green beans, and stew.  

She looked up from pouring more corn onto Hikaru's plate, "Feel free to have some, I cooked enough for everybody!" Hikaru thanked her, but as soon as she turned around he made a face at the corn. The rest of the group, who were all gathered around the table with plates of their own, were poking at their own food, and making similar faces. When Spock turned to Jim for an explanation, Jim was making a face of his own, scrunching up his nose.   

Frank leaned over, chuckling, "Winona's an awful cook, but she insisted on making something. Don't worry, you don't have to eat it. We never do." Jim nodded seriously.  

Since it was getting late, and they'd been driving for _hours_ , they decided not to go out- Jim was saving that for later, so they could actually _see_ the places where his shit took place- and _Winona_ decided that now would be the best time to tell _all_ of the embarrassing stories about Jim's childhood.  

"And then he said," Winona told them, gesturing wildly, the imitating his voice, "'Mom, I am-'" 

"Whoa whoa whoa," Jim said, face red, waving his arms, "that is _not_ how I remember that!"  

Winona shook her head, smiling, and sighed, "It never is."  

"Well tell another one," Bones said, grinning, and lounging on the couch. Winona and Jim were sitting side by side on the floor of the living room, with Pavel, Hikaru, Gaila and Spock making up the rest of the circle. Carol was sitting in one of the armchairs, and Scotty was sitting in the other, with Nyota perched on one of the arms. Frank had made a run to the store. Jim had told Spock that he just didn't want to be there when she started telling stories, lest she start telling them about _him_.  

"Jim's always had a way with words, his first word was 'starship' you know," a couple of Jim's friends aww'd. "There was the one time he wanted me to take him to 'the other McDonald's' but he’d really meant the Waffle House, or the time he called the mall the big house..." she trailed off. "Or the time when his teachers first realized how dramatic he really is. It was in kindergarten, by the way."  

Pavel's eyes lit up, "Oh! I want to hear zat one! My own aunt said I was wery dramatic when I was young."  

Hikaru elbowed him, with a raised eyebrow, "When you were younger?"  

Pavel looked very offended, "Yes, zat is what I said."  

Jim groaned, but Winona flashed them a grin, and patted his knee, "When Jim was in kindergarten," she said, "they always had nap time, but Jim would never sleep. He was much too energetic for that kind of thing," the crew exchanged looks, "and he was a dramatic little brat," she poked him, "so when it came time to sleep he would collapse, hand on his forehead, acting like a woman from the fifties or sixties or sometime back then, as if he were dying, going, ‘Oh, I can't go on any longer.'" 

"That's cute, Jim," Nyota said, and Jim made a face at her.  

"Why didn't I ever get to hear any of these stories, Jim?" Carol asked.  

"Because he never brought anyone back home to see me," Winona said, almost pouting, "Except for you, Leonard," she reached up and patted his leg. He looked down at Jim smugly. 

Jim groaned, " _Mom._ " He was starting to wonder why he thought this was a good idea in the first place.  

\--- 

When it came time for bed, they ended up playing musical sleeping arrangements again. Frank was forced to sleep on the couch because even with four bedrooms they ran out of beds. He was told that Jim was stopping by on his way back from picking up Carol- he'd always liked her- and not that Jim's entire collection of friends would be coming along, so the group was entirely unexpected.  

The girls- Winona, Carol, and Nyota took Winona and Frank's bed, because it was the largest and most comfortable, and offered the most privacy, because really, boys can be kinda gross if they don't think someone is going to make them clean up, or if they think someone's mom is there to clean up for them. Bones and Scotty took Jim and Sam's old bedroom, which had two twin beds and a lot of Jim's old stuff, because they were actual adults and didn't really want to keep sleeping with other people they weren't _sleeping_ with. Well, Scotty didn't really mind, but Leonard was just so goddamn tired of all those _kids._  

Gaila claimed the guest bedroom with the queen in the attic for her, Pavel, and Hikaru, because she really liked sleeping with the kid. She really liked cuddling with him, and thought he was just the cutest, even if she wasn't interested in him sexually. Much. She was interested in everyone. She knew he was with Hikaru, which was why she invited him too. Hikaru insisted on taking his plant with him, Pavel complaining, "Sometimes I think you like zat plant more zan you like me!" the entire trek up the stairs.  

Spock, ever courteous, had opted to take whatever bedroom was leftover when everyone else was done deciding. Jim, who didn't know they were making sleeping arrangements because he was sent to the store to fetch Frank, who had conveniently 'forgotten' his phone, ended up roommates with Spock. And by roommates, he meant bed partners. In a platonic sense. And it wasn't awkward, really, it wasn't!  

They got up the next morning ignoring the way they'd gravitated towards each other while they were sleeping, again.  

\--- 

Since they had all summer- well, Hikaru had a class on Astrophysics, which Jim had no idea how it related to either of his majors- biology _or_ learning to be a pilot- but when Jim asked, he just shot him a glare, in Summer B, but that was three weeks away, and Bones had had some residency work at the Academy's teaching hospital, but the offer of seeing Joanna, his little girl, in what would have been in the middle of it caused him to reschedule- they decided they'd chill for a couple days at Winona's- "And Frank's!" Frank insisted, but they mostly ignored him- and see where Jim grew up.  

Back in Jim's car, since he could only fit one other person on his bike, two if they squeezed, he drove them around Riverside, and the back roads- well, according to Jim, they were _all_ back roads- pointing everything out.  

"That's the barn where I first got laid when I was sixteen," he pointed to a barn next to a rundown house, a mile or two from his own. Nyota opened her mouth, but before she had a chance to speak, he snapped, "YES, Nyota, with a human!" She and Hikaru snickered. "Areel Shaw. What a bitch. I hear she's a lawyer or something now, whatever. She wasn't even a good lay."  

Bones shook his head, "Not that your sexual history isn't just _fascinatin'_ Jim, and as if I hadn’t heard all this before, but don't ya'll have any normal touristy stuff here?" 

Jim laughed as the rest of the crew nodded in agreement. "There's always a tour of the places I've gotten arrested..."  

Bones let out an exasperated sigh, "God, Jim, that's got to be half the state."  

"Fine, fine, I'll show you guys our _actual_ tourist shit," he said, as he turned towards town. Near town, Jim pointed to the Riverside Quarry, "Okay I know you guys didn't want to hear about the numerous places I've been arrested-" 

"That's because they're everywhere," Bones grumbled.  

"But that was definitely the first- and completely intentional- time." 

Nyota rolled her eyes, indulging him, "Okay I'll bite. What'd you do?"  

"Drove a car off the side of the cliff."  

" _What_?" Bones spat, as everyone's jaw dropped- everyone except Spock's, he was much too dignified to show his surprise in that manner.  

" _Jim,_ " Carol said, concerned. 

"I always thought you were shitting me, kid," Bones said. Jim smirked, and shook his head. 

"Nah, I really did it. Frank's classic Chevy Corvette, right over the edge when I was twelve. You'd probably still be able to see pieces down there if you looked hard enough."  

Bones shook his head, "Damn it, man, that's not something to be proud of."  

Jim chuckled, and waved to the quarry as he passed, "Goodbyeeeeee first arrest location!"  

\--- 

Twenty minutes later, Jim pulled up beside a little bar that looked a little too full for five in the afternoon. "And this is the one bar in town that would serve me when I was fifteen- it's not as fancy as that one bar I met Nyota in, but it'll do the trick. Plus, there's something way cooler in the backyard. This way, guys!" Jim said, leading the way. They exchanged looks- Bones sighed, and followed him out, he'd never quite kicked his alcoholic habit, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been when he met Jim, Nyota shrugged and followed, tugging Scotty behind her, who was happy to get a chance to go into _any_ bar, Chekov grabbed his camera and Hikaru, while Carol and Gaila were happy to be back on American soil where they served American drinks. Spock, who didn't drink, followed them all with a raised eyebrow.  

Jim was already at the bar, leaning on it, chatting up a girl sitting there, as the bar tender brought him a drink. He waved them over, "Guys! First rounds on me!"  

Nyota raised an eyebrow, "I thought we had this discussion last time I was in Iowa- her drinks are on her." 

"Aww, c'mon, that was like, three years ago!" 

She smiled at him, "And now I'm a TA, you're still a student, and I can still pay for my drinks. Actually, I'll pay for everyone's," she turned to the bartender, and looked at the menu, "Hi, I'd like a Klavnian fire tea, uhh... two Budweiser classics, two Cardassian sunrises, and a..." 

The bartender, who's name tag read 'Sal,' suggested, "Try the Slusho, it's good."  

She smiled, "The Slusho mix, thank you," she glanced to Bones, who shrugged, "And a shot of Jack straight up. Oh, and scotch, on the rocks," she said.  

A few minutes later, when they were all seated at the bar, Sal brought the drinks. Carol and Gaila grabbed the Cardassian sunrises, Nyota took the Slusho, Hikaru and Pavel took the Budweisers, Spock the tea, Scotty the scotch, and Bones the Jack. Bones tipped it towards Nyota, and then downed it.  

Jim stood up, "Okay, everyone's got a drink right?" They nodded, eyebrows raised. "Then come this way!" he said, drink in hand, leading out towards a door in the back. The door swung open and led to the yard behind the bar. Sitting on the grass was a Budweiser beer can, which was over twenty feet tall. Several jaws dropped.  

"What is it?"  

Jim grinned and put his hands on his hips proudly, "This is the world's largest beer can! We have a running disagreement with the world's _other_ largest beer can, that one in Australia or Wisconsin or whatever."  

"'Or whatever'?" 

Jim waved his hand, "Whatever. You guys wanted touristy, here's your thing!" 

Bones shook his head, and handed Nyota his glass, "Here, hold this, darlin'. Jim, take my picture." 

Jim grinned, and took out his phone, "Smile!" Bones mouth slid into a half grin.  

"This is so goin' on Facebook," Hikaru said with a grin, looking at the camera as he brought it up, and snapped a picture. "Pavel, your turn!"  

Pavel, drink in hand, smiled brightly as Hikaru took his picture, “I have to show this to my aunt!” Jim grinned as they all took their turn.  

\--- 

The next day, they got rained in, and Winona somehow convinced them all to help her do some really late spring cleaning, as the rain drenched the house and area around them.  

Hikaru sat back, and wiped his brow, pausing from moving the couch back into place. They'd completely rearranged the living room, after pulling out all of the furniture onto the porch "to be aired out." Nyota walked by with a stack of pots and pans she and Carol had washed and then laid out on the dining room table while Pavel cleaned the kitchen- cabinets, walls, and floor. Scotty had just finished fixing the leak that Frank never got around to doing, and Jim waddled by, carrying all of the sheets in the house, in a pile bigger than his head. Gaila was still on the porch, attempting to maneuver a particularly large side table back through the doorway. Spock was on the floor, attempting to wipe away all the grime that had accumulated on the doors in the past year. Bones was lost somewhere upstairs stripping the beds and putting the sheets back on when they were clean. 

Winona came in, her hair pulled up into a ponytail, with a tray of lemonade. "Does anyone want any?" she asked.  

Hikaru opened his mouth to reply, when he remembered the other day's cooking. He glanced towards Jim, who was on another laundry trip. Jim mouthed, " _It's okay, I watched her make it."_  

"Uh," he cleared his throat, "I'll take some, Mrs. Kirk." 

She smiled at him, "I told you, it's Winona," and then poured him some.  

Carol walked over from the dining room, and smiled, "I'll have some too, Winona."  

She hummed in agreement, pouring Carol some as well. "What do you all want for dinner? Since there's so many of you, I think I'm going to get started soon!"  

Hikaru froze, and choked on the lemonade. Coughing, he choked out, "I don't think that's necessary, Winona," as she patted him on the back. 

Carol smiled nervously, "What he _means_ to say," she emphasized, looking pointedly at him, "is that you don't need to worry about cooking tonight, we'll handle that."  

"You really don't need to!" she insisted. Carol placed a hand on her arm.  

"No, really, Winona, we want to," Hikaru nodded with her. “To thank you for your hospitality.” 

"Are you sure?"  

Nyota came from the kitchen and stood beside her, "Yeah, it'll be fun."  

"What'll be fun?" Jim asked, dropping the load of clean blankets onto the couch.  

"We're making dinner, apparently," Hikaru said, looking up from the floor.  

"I have recipes and cookbooks in the kitchen if you want them," Winona offered.  

"Pavel and I will look at those, won't we?" Nyota said, and Pavel nodded.  

"I know lots of things about cooking!" he said, "Lots of recipes were inwented in Russia! In fact, my aunt liked to make a sauce inwented in my hometown! Maybe you will have a dish to go with it?"  

"C'mon Jim, we can go to the store," Carol said, offering her arm.  

"I guess we'll finish moving everything back?" Gaila asked, finally getting the table back inside.  

"Thanks Gaila!" Jim yelled over his shoulder as they headed for the car.  

\--- 

About the time they arrived at the grocery store, Pavel called Carol to tell her what they needed for dinner. "Are you sure that's all we need?" Carol asked, writing down the ingredients they told her.  

"Yes!"  

"Alright, call back if you need anything else," she said as she climbed out of the car, and hung up. Jim grabbed a shopping cart that was abandoned in the parking space next to theirs, and he jumped on the back, and propelled himself forward, riding it directly into the middle of the street. Carol sighed and shook her head. "Jim?" 

"Sorry!" he yelled as he pushed it onto the sidewalk, as a car honked at him. She hurried after him to get out of the rain. The doors swished open, and she smiled at the cashiers. She steered them towards the pasta.  

"Pavel said to get ravioli with beef," she said, peering at the frozen pastas. She picked two brands, and looked them over. "Which do you think is better? I've never seen either before, I have no idea." 

"Frank usually gets that kind," Jim said, pointing to the one on the left.  

Carol picked up three more bags, "Just to be safe," she told him. She felt a tugging on her jeans, and looked down. A little boy with curly blond hair, who was probably three or four, was standing there, sucking on his thumb. She knelt down, "Oh sweetheart, where's your mommy?" The boy shook his head. "Jim," she said, and he knelt down beside her.  

"Hey kiddo," he said, grinning, "what's your name?" 

He looked at them for a moment, before saying, "David."  

Jim opened his mouth, but then a woman screeched, "David!" Jim and Carol stood up to see a heavy woman with the boy's same curly hair come running, and swoop the boy up, pressing kisses to his cheeks, "Don't scare mommy like that ever again, do you hear me?" He nodded, and started crying. She turned to Jim, "Thank you so much for finding him!"  

Jim rubbed his hand over the back of his head, "Uh, it's really no problem. He just ran over to Carol and me." 

"Thank you two so much!" she said, and hugged them. She rushed off to her cart, still carrying David.  

Jim turned to Carol, who looks just as shocked as he did. She laughed, "Well that was something." 

"Definitely."  

She turned back to the pastas, and sighed. "This could have been us, Jim. Shopping in Riverside, Iowa, with our own David." 

Jim looked at her for a long minute before shaking his head, "I don't think it could have."  

\--- 

Despite the both of them saying for the past two night that they were going to seek other sleeping arrangements, neither Jim nor Spock ever did. On the day they were scheduled to leave, Jim woke up early, and slipped out of the room after pulling on a long sleeve shirt and jeans. He woke up earlier even than Spock, who was usually the earliest riser of them all.  

When Spock awoke, it was near sunrise, but still dark enough to see the stars. The bed beside him was cold, and absent Jim. He blinked his blurry eyes open. Waking up early was unusual for Jim, unless he had a project or was fixated on something, in which case, he often forewent sleep at all. From what Spock knew about him, which, he realized was quite a lot, Jim _loved_ sleep, and should, by all means, be sleeping until the very last minute.  

So, in hindsight of this unusual behavior of Jim's, Spock decided to go in search of his friend. He figured he'd find him at the most Jim-like place possible, so he checked the roof. He went into the second floor bathroom on the other side of the hall, and sure enough, the window was propped open. He climbed out onto the ledge, and pulled himself up high enough to where he could step on the gutter drain that was on the side of the house, and pulled himself onto the roof. Jim was sitting on the roof, facing the east, away from Spock, and looking at the stars. Spock walked over towards him, standing behind him, wordlessly, and watching them too.  

After a moment, Jim spoke, "I thought- I hoped- you would find me. But how did you even get up here?"  

"You once told me how you would sneak onto the roof as a child," Spock said, sitting beside him."  

Jim made a face, "That had to have been- god, _months_ ago. How did you even remember that?" 

"Approximately 7. 3 months ago," he said, pausing. Then softer, "I remember every conversation we've ever had."  

Jim let out a low chuckle, "Of course you do."  

They sat beside each other in comfortable silence, just looking at the stars, for another couple of minutes, when Jim spoke again. "I used to come up here when I was kid and angry at the world. I was angry at my dad for dying in that freak accident at the shipyard, angry at my mom for remarrying, angry at Frank for trying to replace my dad, angry at Sam for leaving," he paused, and looked down at his hands, which were clasped tougher where his arms were wrapped around his legs, partially pulled up to his chest. "I used to come up here a lot, actually," he chuckled. "I would come up here and look at the stars to remind myself that there's so much more out there, and that some day I was going to get out of this place and see it all.” 

Spock didn't say anything, because he understood, and Jim knew it. Spock was raised by a family that he knew loved him, but they were incredibly strict, logical, and left no room for _feelings_ , and all he wanted as a kid after his mom died was to _get away_.  

After a moment, Jim looked up at the stars, and not looking at Spock, he said, "I know you're in love with me."  

Spock froze. His heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't tell if it was going to continue to speed up till it burst, or if it were going to stop all together. He wasn't sure what he preferred. Trying to deny it, even though he knew it was true, he'd known it for a long time, he said, "I am no-"  

But Jim turned to him angrily, "Bullshit. We've been dancing around this for years, don't you dare deny it now," and kissed him. A heartbeat later, Spock recovered from the shock, and kissed him back.  

After a moment, he pulled back, and said, voice cracking, "You are in love with me, as well."  

Jim burst out laughing, "Yeah, yeah I am," and kissed him again. The sun rose eventually, not that either of them noticed. A little while later, they headed downstairs to make breakfast- Jim's specialty- toast, and Spock's- everything else. Then they got back on the road to San Francisco, arguing about directions, food stops, and attempting to play 3D chess on Jim's iPad the entire trip back. 


End file.
